Life's more than sugar content

I had an eye opening mommy experience on Friday. The kids and I walked up to the convenience store on the corner to get some rubbing alcohol (for the sofa catastrophe). I decided they could have a treat. Oliver went for the safe plain M & M's like we always do. For some reason I felt like comparing the sugar content between plain M&M's and Fun Dip. Believe it or not they were fairly comparable (I say fairly, because there was math involved. M&Ms are 1 serving where Fun Dip is 3). I decided to let the kids in on a well kept secret, sugar in sugar form. We paid for our treat and alcohol and headed home through the alley. Oliver was holding the candy and I remember thinking, "I hope no mom sees me letting my kid buy Fun Dip". For some reason in my mind sugary candy= bad parenting. We hurried home.

We all sat down on the kiddie picnic table. I handed a sugar stick to Oliver and the other to Amelia, I can use my finger. We open the first pack and I had to take a few minutes to teach them how to eat this special candy. As we enjoyed our sugar I started thinking. This is exactly what I want to be doing right now on this nice summery day. The kids (heck, we all) were excited, but calm and engaged. I was not thinking about the dishes or dust. They were taking turns, waiting patiently and bonding with each other. I was not pulling Oliver off Amelia. They were developing their fine motor and verbal skills. I was fully engaged. Most importantly, they were having fun with their mom. We all had big smiles on our faces. Priceless.

I'm working on becoming a "perfectly good mom" and trying to let some of the high expectations I have for myself go. They are MY kids. Why am I putting so much pressure on myself and them because of what others may think or say? F them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning on having Fun Dip daily, but I want to let my kids be kids. A little sugar, TV, sun exposure, dirt, dust, clutter etc is not going to kill them. This isn't going to change overnight, but like I said I'm working on it. I want my kids to look back on their childhood and say we had fun with our mom, not we always ate healthy and the dishes were always done and there was always lessons to be learned. I need to relax, breathe and enjoy. May there be many more "fun dip" moments ahead.

Incase you're wondering, yes the kids survived and they slept great that night.

Snip Snip- Amelia's First Haircut

Amelia's hair has been in her eyes for months and it was driving me crazy. It needed to be cut. I didn't want to take her to a professional and risk them cutting her new curls off. I just wanted her bangs trimmed. Well, I'm not paying someone $16 when I am fully capable of doing it on my own. She was very compliant and only needed a squirt bottle for distraction.

Yes, we're still in our pajamas. It was only 8:30am.

She looks like such a big girl.

T Ball here we come...well kind of

Tonight was Oliver's first t-ball practice. He was pretty apprehensive and confused. In all fairness it was 98 degrees and there where kids and parents everywhere. He didn't want to hit the ball and Tim practically carried him to first base. He turned it around mid way through and was able to have some fun. By the end he was a real "slugger". He's growing up so fast. I love you Buga bo!

Can you tell he missed his nap today?

The Lotion Incident

Today I got out of the shower to find Amelia covered in lotion. She took my big bottle of pump lotion out of the bathroom and covered herself. I thought she was being a little too quiet.

Here is a video of the lotion incident but you'll have to watch it sideways. I always forget to turn the camera the right way when I turn it to the video function. Arrrggggg!

Gone Fishing

My parents bought Oliver a fishing pole for his birthday a few months ago. My dad promised him that once it got nice out he would bring him fishing on his boat. SInce then, any time I casually mention that the weather looks nice out Oliver says, "nice enough to go fishing on Grandpa Macy's boat?" If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, I'd be rich. My parents FINALLY invited us for a boat ride on Friday. My dad brought his tackle box to get his pole ready (it still had the safe rubber tire weight it came with on it), and also some worms he dug up on the back yard. Oliver was stoked!

Here is his first fish! Well, actually grandpa casted it and a fish immediately took the bait. "Here Oliver, grab the pole you caught a fish." I don't really count this as his first fish.

THIS is his first fish! He casted it, watched the bobber go down, set the hook and reeled it in all by himself. I couldn't believe it. Could a natural fisherman be born to a vegetarian mom and a dad that doesn't like fish?

We had so much fun fishing. Thanks mom and dad.